HR: 08:15h
AN: GP41C-02 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Determining Core Properties From a Planet's Magnetic Field Morphology
AU: * Stanley, S
EM: stanley@physics.utoronto.ca
AF: University of Toronto, Department of Physics, 60 St. George St., Toronto, ON M5S1A7 Canada
AU: Zuber, M T
EM: zuber@mit.edu
AF: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 United States
AU: Bloxham, J
EM: jeremy_bloxham@harvard.edu
AF: Harvard University, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 20 Oxford St., Cambrdige, MA 02138 United States
AB: Determining properties of a planet's deep interior are difficult because we cannot observe this region directly as we can the surface of a planet. On Earth, seismology has provided important information on the structure and composition of the deep interior including the core. In addition, properties of the Earth's outer core motions have been determined mostly from observations of the geomagnetic field secular variation. Unfortunately we are not at present able to conduct detailed seismic studies and observations of magnetic field secular variation for other planets to provide us with the same quality of information on their cores. We are however, capable of studying a planet's magnetic field morphology quite extensively with an orbiting spacecraft at relatively low altitude. Here we use numerical dynamo models to determine what magnetic field structures can tell us about a planet's core. We concentrate on properties such as inner core size and outer core convective vigor. The results are used to determine what key observations of magnetic field structures could be made by future spacecraft missions to provide information on the dynamo source regions inside planets. This type of study can aid in determining the internal structure and evolution of Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Ganymede for which little is known about these properties.
DE: 1507 Core processes (1213, 8115)
DE: 1510 Dynamo: theories and simulations
DE: 1595 Planetary magnetism: all frequencies and wavelengths
DE: 5440 Magnetic fields and magnetism
DE: 5734 Magnetic fields and magnetism
SC: Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism [GP]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005